View the Forehand Tomahawk Topspin/Sidespin Serve Video - 720x576 pixels version. (7.7MB); 640x480 pixels version. (4MB); 320x240 pixels version. (1.9MB)
Points to look for:
- The serve is called a tomahawk serve because the movement of the bat resembles the way American Indians were shown waving their tomahawks in movies.
- This serve is performed from anywhere along the endline, depending on the preferences of the server. The sidespin on the ball will tend to make the receiver's return go towards the server's forehand side.
- The free hand is flat, stationary, and above the playing surface and behind the endline.
- The bottom three fingers of the racket hand have been loosened, to allow the bat to be moved more freely when serving. This makes it easier to put more varieties of spin on the ball.
- The amount of sidespin and topspin will be varied constantly, in order to make it more difficult for the receiver to judge the correct amount of spin on the ball.
- The use of sidespin makes it harder for the receiver to tell how much topspin is on the ball, since the ball has a combination of topspin and sidespin.